Bill Would Allow 2 Inmates Per Cell

May 10, 1986|By Linda Kleindienst, Tallahassee Bureau Chef

TALLAHASSEE -- County jails would have more room for prisoners under a double-bunking measure given overwhelming support Friday by the House.

The bill (HB 276) by Rep. Wayne Hollingsworth, D-Lake City, would allow counties to put two inmates into a 63-square-foot jail cell. The state currently allows only one inmate in a cell that size, with two inmates requiring 90 square feet.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that prisoners may be double-bunked in the smaller cells, but that raised the concern of one legislator who wondered about crowding two prisoners into a small area.